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Pirates Feeling Upbeat

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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

Published: February 5, 2008

DADE CITY - At the start of this season, Barry Grayling scoffed at the notion that a lack of experience would be Pasco's downfall this season.

Turns out, he was right.

If the Pirates (21-5-2) beat Orlando Bishop Moore (17-5-4) in tonight's Class 4A-Region 2 semifinal at W.F. Edwards Stadium, they will be back where the senior-laden squad of 2006-07 finished last year. And much of the credit will go to players few had heard of during their playoff run.

There's senior forward Alex Hollander, who scored one goal all last season. This year he has 27.

There's sophomore defender Will Edwards, who expected to be playing junior varsity when he tried out at the beginning of the year. He's become a regular starter and one of Grayling's best when it comes to marking the opposition's top scorers.

And there's juniors Jacob Pollock and Ernesto Garcia, who have taken over as starters at goalkeeper and defender, respectively, and played key roles in returning Pasco to a regional semifinal for the fifth consecutive year.

"We had to start out pretty much from new and see what we could do," said Hollander of the beginning to the year. "I didn't know what to look forward to, because last year was personally pretty bad. But it's unfolded pretty well."

Of course, much of the Pasco spotlight has been given to senior forward Joe Montelongo and his county-leading 48 goals this season and 143 for his career. Returning starters Cody Sumner, Trent Sumner and Ryan Lowery also have received their due. But in many ways, there is more potential for the others to make a bigger impact.

"Everybody knows about Joe Montelongo. Bishop Moore is liable to mark Joe up with I don't know, one or two players," Grayling said. "The rest of the team will have to step up."
Pollock was one of those who responded well after the loss to Hudson in the 4A-District 8 final. He took the defeat personally, running several miles on his own in an attempt to relieve frustration.

Though he was admittedly nervous in last week's region quarterfinal against Harmony, Pollock stopped several first-half shots and kept the game close before Pasco pulled away in the second-half to win 3-1. He said he's gained confidence with every game.

And it wasn't just Pollock. In fact, the entire team took the Hudson loss badly. But it seemed to help the squad focus.

"It kind of set us straight." Hollander said. "We came out and absolutely played horrible, and it kind of got us focused for the regional game, because we knew that if we lost again, we were done. It helped us out to just focus on winning."

Teamwork, according to Garcia, hasn't been a problem for this group despite all the change from last year. Grayling agrees.

"I wouldn't say it would be strongest team in the last two years," Grayling said, "but as a team effort and coming together, I'd say they're strong."

Correspondent Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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